Wondering if anyone can provide some advice on a problem I have with my DC33 cleaner. The head (that the beater bar sits inside) has become very stiff after I replaced the motor. Now when you try to use the cleaner on the floor, the head doesn't drop to floor level under its own weight.

Initially the problem appeared to be a misalignment between the head and the motor housing. The catch that runs in the channel of the motor housing appears to be applying a lot of sideways force onto the motor housing, causing it to bind when the head tried to move. The head seemed to be too far over to the left as a result of the head moulding not fitting around the motor correctly. I loosened the screws on the motor housing and was able to get the head moulding to fit around the motor rather than sitting outboard of it. Now the catch exerts no sideways force onto the motor housing, but there seems to be a lot of friction from the area where the head moulding meets the motor (where I adjusted the fit). I've applied some WD40 in this area and this improved matters a bit but not to the point where the head falls to floor level under its own weight. Can anyone provide any advice about how to resolve the situation?

Have left the problem for a while to have a coffee and do some research but haven't found anything on the internet to help, other than this forum!

Wondering if anyone can provide some advice on a problem I have with my DC33 cleaner. The head (that the beater bar sits inside) has become very stiff after I replaced the motor. Now when you try to use the cleaner on the floor, the head doesn't drop to floor level under its own weight.

Initially the problem appeared to be a misalignment between the head and the motor housing. The catch that runs in the channel of the motor housing appears to be applying a lot of sideways force onto the motor housing, causing it to bind when the head tried to move. The head seemed to be too far over to the left as a result of the head moulding not fitting around the motor correctly. I loosened the screws on the motor housing and was able to get the head moulding to fit around the motor rather than sitting outboard of it. Now the catch exerts no sideways force onto the motor housing, but there seems to be a lot of friction from the area where the head moulding meets the motor (where I adjusted the fit). I've applied some WD40 in this area and this improved matters a bit but not to the point where the head falls to floor level under its own weight. Can anyone provide any advice about how to resolve the situation?

Have left the problem for a while to have a coffee and do some research but haven't found anything on the internet to help, other than this forum!

Many thanks

Tony L.

I have this problem quite often. Its a mix between the head not aligned correctly after the motor housing not on and the clutch cover being not right.You need to remove the head and when you put it back on make sure everything is aligned up right. Do not put one side on then the other as that causes things to get misaligned. Pull on each side of the cleaner head and put over evenly before letting go. When refitting the clutch cover make sure its straight and that it goes in the runner on the motor housing right. Before screwing everything together make sure its dropping ok. Lift it to the stood up position and drop it back down and make sure it moves freely. Then put the screws in and continue to reassemble.

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Collector and restorer of most vacuum cleaners including vintage, older style models and newer models. Seller of refurbished vacuums and vacuum parts Livin' every day, as if it were the last!

Either that ^ or the motor housing isnít fitted correctly for the cleaner head to slide into the groove of the surrounding of the motor spindle

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DC14s are tanks, just need a slightly longer motor life. Do plastic parts often break on DC14s? Nope. DC41- Sexy looking futuristic and powerful machine. Just needs a better designed cleaner head wheel and cyclone clip along with a dense metal rod in the chassis.

Thanks parwaz and Dysonboy. I got time today to revisit this problem and was able to fix it. I found that I had already got the motor and motor housing together correctly and the catch was able to slide freely, but there was a lot of friction from the clutch cover, so I remove this (and some other stuff to get better access to it) and was able to reinstall it so that it ran smoothly. I also applied some silicone grease to the head pivot points and all this has done the trick.

Thanks parwaz and Dysonboy. I got time today to revisit this problem and was able to fix it. I found that I had already got the motor and motor housing together correctly and the catch was able to slide freely, but there was a lot of friction from the clutch cover, so I remove this (and some other stuff to get better access to it) and was able to reinstall it so that it ran smoothly. I also applied some silicone grease to the head pivot points and all this has done the trick.

Many thanks for your help and support.

Excellent news! Yeah Ive had the clutch cover be a pain with the head sometimes.

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Collector and restorer of most vacuum cleaners including vintage, older style models and newer models. Seller of refurbished vacuums and vacuum parts Livin' every day, as if it were the last!